Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $233.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $225.00 to $233.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ecolab from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $227.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.62 and its 200 day moving average is $202.96. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $231.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.